Ezel / AG Opinions / MO
MO Opinion No. 127-2019 2019-07-18

Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 6, file 2020-077)?

Short answer: Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-077 (version 6 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in one-time state costs and at least $756,000 in local one-time costs, $61,000 in annual local costs, and $181,000 per election. The AG check is procedural under § 116.175.4 RSMo.
Currency note: this opinion is from 2019
Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Missouri Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Missouri attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

Petition 2020-077 was version 6 of a 12-version slate of voting-access initiative petitions Mary Anne Sedey filed in mid-July 2019. The slate would amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution to add automatic voter registration from state agency lists, ballot transfer at the wrong polling place, permanent vote-by-mail, and a public record of voting method.

Under § 116.175 RSMo, the State Auditor prepares a fiscal note describing the petition's expected revenue and cost effects. The AG then reviews the fiscal note's "legal content and form" under § 116.175.4 RSMo. AG Schmitt's letter approved that legal form for version 6.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The exact fiscal-note summary the AG approved

State governmental entities expect one-time costs of at least $1 million and possible ongoing costs. Local governments are expected to have costs of an unknown amount totaling at least $756,000 in one-time costs, $61,000 in annual costs, and $181,000 in costs per election.

Common questions

Q: What does the AG actually approve here?
A: Only the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary text, that is, whether the auditor's words satisfy § 116.175.4 RSMo. The AG does not pass on the accuracy or fairness of the dollar figures; that is litigable separately under § 116.190 RSMo.

Q: How does version 6 differ from version 5?
A: Versions 5 and 6 share the higher dollar figures ($756,000 local one-time and $61,000 annual local), so they sit in the same policy cell. The two appear to be drafting variants of the same underlying voting-access design rather than substantively different proposals. The companion summary-statement opinion is 149-2019.

Q: Why does the per-election figure stay at $181,000?
A: The recurring per-election cost reflects local election authorities operationalizing the petition's polling-place mechanics, chiefly the ballot-transfer rule that requires election judges to handle and reroute ballots cast at the wrong precinct.

Q: Did this petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. None of the 12 Sedey 2019 versions appears to have reached the 2020 statewide ballot.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline. This opinion sits at step 3:

  1. Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
  2. AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
  3. State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo (this opinion).
  4. Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo.
  5. Petition certified for circulation.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.175 RSMo; § 116.175.4 RSMo; § 116.190 RSMo (judicial challenges); § 116.332 RSMo; § 116.334 RSMo.

Companion summary-statement opinion (2020-077, version 6): 149-2019.

Sister Sedey July 2019 12-version slate fiscal-note opinions: 126-2019 (v5), 128-2019 (v7), 129-2019 (v8), 130-2019 (v9), 131-2019 (v10), 132-2019 (v11), 133-2019 (v12).

Sister Sedey later-July 2019 wave fiscal-note opinions (2020-088, 2020-089): 134-2019, 135-2019.

Source

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT

July 18, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 127-2019

The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Auditor Galloway:

This office received your letter of July 8, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Mary Anne Sedey (20-077). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:

State governmental entities expect one-time costs of at least $1 million and possible ongoing costs. Local governments are expected to have costs of an unknown amount totaling at least $756,000 in one-time costs, $61,000 in annual costs, and $181,000 in costs per election.

Under § 116.175.4, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary. Because our review of the fiscal note summary is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the initiative petition or as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.

Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov

OP-2019-0152